Śambhala is the sacred village in which Bhagavān Vishṇu descends as the Kalki avatāra (a coming down of Bhagavān Vishṇu). It is the birthplace of the last great task of the present mahākalpa (great age of the world): the place where Bhagavān Vishṇu comes down to earth to begin the great restoration of dharma at the end of the Kali Yuga. The Kalki Purāṇa, the Vishṇu Purāṇa and the Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa all name Śambhala as the birthplace of Kalki, son of the brāhmaṇa Vishṇuyaśas.

Sacred status

In the Prathamāmśa of the Kalki Purāṇa, Śambhala is not described as a tīrtha in the usual sense. Yet its holiness is of the highest kind, for Bhagavān Vishṇu himself chose it as the place of his last avatāra in this cycle of the world. When Bhagavān Vishṇu spoke to Brahmā and the devas at Goloka, his words were exact: “I will descend in Śambhala, in the household of the brāhmaṇa Vishṇuyaśas.” This choice places Śambhala in the sacred geography of the Kali age, as Ayodhyā belongs to the Tretā age and Mathurā and Dvārakā to the Dvāpara.

Setting

Śambhala is a village of brāhmaṇas, the home of learned and dharmic brāhmaṇas. The Kalki Purāṇa tells that certain brāhmaṇas of high spiritual standing, among them Gārgya, Bhārgya and Viśāla, were born there even before Kalki came, drawn to the village by their bond of karma with the avatāra. They became Kalki’s first companions. King Viśākhayūpa of Mahishmatī ruled the region.

At the moment of birth

When Kalki was born in Śambhala, all the people of the village were filled with joy and forgot all their sorrows. Every being in Śambhala was freed from the tapatraya, the three torments of ādhyātmika, ādhibhautika and ādhidaivika suffering (suffering from oneself, from other beings, and from the devas or nature). Sumatī gave a hundred cows to brāhmaṇas, so that the village became a place of sacred giving as well as of sacred birth. Vishṇuyaśas’s naming ceremony was carried out by four immortal chirajīvins.

The purifying power of Kalki’s presence

The Kalki Purāṇa says that the presence of Bhagavān Kalki in Śambhala worked as a tīrtha. Those who had lost their dharma under the influence of Kali were made pure as soon as they came into his presence. The text is exact on this point: they were cleansed simply by being near him.

Śambhala in other Purāṇas

Several Purāṇas name Śambhala as the birthplace of Kalki.

Kalki Purāṇa: “I will descend in Śambhala in the house of Vishṇuyaśas” (Prathamāmśa, Chapter 1).
Vishṇu Mahā Purāṇa (Chaturdhāmsa, Chapter 24): Kalki is born in Śambhala as the son of Vishṇuyaśas.
Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa: Vishṇuyaśa is named as Kalki’s father.
Narasimha Purāṇa (Chapter 54): Kalki is born at Śambhala to Vishṇuyaśa.

Viśvakarmā’s palace and Kalki’s return (Dvithīyāmśa)

Kalki was about to return from Siṃhala Dvīpa with his new bride Padmāvatī. Indra, acting on his own, called Viśvakarmā and commanded: “Go to Śambhala at once and build a great palace, with jewels, crystal and vaiḍūrya (cat’s-eye gem), with many storeys, showing all your art.”

Viśvakarmā went and built with great skill. He raised prāsādas (palaces) in the svastikākāra (swastika shape). The fronts were carved with hamsa-mukhāni, siṃha-mukhāni and garuḍa-mukhāni (faces of swans, lions and Garuḍa). The many-storeyed halls had many windows, made to cool the heat of summer. In this change the whole city of Śambhala shone like Indra’s own Amarāvatī.

In this passage Śambhala is said to be seven yojanas wide, a city of great size. It was full of brāhmaṇas, kshatriyas, vaiśyas and śūdras, and bright with many palaces. The bird Śuka came as Kalki’s messenger ahead of him. It flew over the city in delight, seeing the groves, palaces and houses, before it landed at the household of Vishṇuyaśas with the news.

When Kalki arrived, Vishṇuyaśas and Viśākhayūpa had already decked the city with golden kalaśas (water pots) filled with fragrant water, kālāguru dhūpa (black aloe incense), lamps, fresh flowers, aṅkuras (sprouts), akshatas (unbroken rice grains) and all the other auspicious things. Sumatī welcomed Padmāvatī with a mother’s joy. The city shone, as the text says, like a beautiful woman in the presence of her lord.

The Kṛtayuga reign and the final departure (Tritīyāmśa)

When the digvijaya (conquest of the quarters) was complete, Kali was beaten and sent away, the mleccha kings were destroyed and Dharma was set up again. Kalki then returned to Śambhala and ruled there for 1,000 years as king of the new Kṛtayuga. These thousand years were the golden age of the new cycle. Dharma stood on all four feet. The devas did their duties and blessed the earth with rain in season. The brāhmaṇas were learned and dharmic, and the kshatriyas performed yajñas. The four varṇas kept their own dharmas. There was no deceit, no theft and no falsehood. All beings were free of the ādhivyādhis (mental and bodily troubles) of the Kali age.

In this time Kalki’s wife Ramā kept the Rukmiṇī Vrata, a great Vaishṇava vow begun by Paraśurāma. She began it on Vaiśākha Śukla Dvādaśī and kept it for four years. She bore two sons, Meghamāla and Bāhuka, who joined Jayavijaya (born of Padmāvatī) as Kalki’s heirs. Kalki visited 68 tīrthas in this reign. Meanwhile Nārada had visited Vishṇuyaśas and shown him that Kalki is Nārāyaṇa. Vishṇuyaśas went to Badarikāśrama for tapas and merged with Paramātman, and Sumatī entered the fire (agni-praveśa).

Then Brahmā came to Śambhala with all the devas to call Kalki back to Vaikuṇṭha, and the devas sang his stotra. Kalki agreed to go. He called an assembly, crowned his sons and comforted his weeping people. He then set out with both wives, Padmāvatī and Ramā, toward the Himālaya. At the Gaṅgā he took his four-armed (catur-bhuja) form of Vishṇu and rose to Vaikuṇṭha, shining like a thousand suns. Padmāvatī and Ramā both entered the fire and followed him. With Kalki’s departure, Śambhala ceased to be the seat of the avatāra. The Kṛtayuga he had set up went on, ruled by Maru and Devāpi.

Sources

Kalki Purāṇa, Prathamāmśa, Chapters 1, 2, 3 (Chapter 1: Bhagavān Vishṇu’s words at Goloka; Chapter 2: the setting, the birth and the naming; Chapter 3: the purifying power of Kalki’s presence)
Kalki Purāṇa, Dvithīyāmśa, Chapter 6 (Viśvakarmā’s palace and Kalki’s return)
Kalki Purāṇa, Tritīyāmśa, Chapters 14–21 (the Kṛtayuga reign and the final departure)
Vishṇu Mahā Purāṇa, Chaturdhāmsa, Chapter 24
Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa
Narasimha Purāṇa, Chapter 54